


I Know it's Cheesy, but I think You're Grate

by Demedicis



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-24 18:40:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9780095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demedicis/pseuds/Demedicis
Summary: Joonmyun is a straight A student who respects others that work hard like him. What he can't respect, however, is the annoying student that comes to class late everyday without fail.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written/posted for exorarepairings

The semester started three weeks ago, when the temperature outside was still warm enough for shorts and t-shirts, but it takes those three weeks before Joonmyun notices him… _him_ being the student that always comes into class fifteen minutes late.

Joonmyun himself has been late to class before—and once for an exam, the most horrifying experience of his life—but he has never made it a habit. This student, however, always scrambles into the classroom late and slightly out of breath, so consistently it’s as if he doesn’t even know _when_ their class is meant to start. Maybe, Joonmyun reasons, he _doesn’t_ know; at least it would explain his unpunctual behaviour.

Yet, that’s not the worst of it, for somehow this student manages to be even more annoying. Every lecture, once the guy finds himself an empty seat, he promptly falls asleep in it. His body will be contorted into positions that can in no way be comfortable, but nevertheless he dozes on.

Joonmyun knows not everyone finds the history of classical music as interesting as he finds it, but sleeping all through class is definitely rude. _If you’re going to interrupt everyone and then not even pay attention_ , Joonmyun chides telepathically, _don’t even bother coming_! His advice isn’t taken, because the tardiness and poor sleeping habits don’t stop.

He supposes, therefore, it must be some kind of delayed bad karma, maybe for the exam he nearly missed, when one Monday morning, class starts and the only empty seat is on his right. Joonmyun takes out his notebook and favourite black pen, and is only mildly surprised when he hears the door in the back of the room swing open ten minutes later.

A boy with an untidy mop of black hair and an oversized bomber jacket falls into the seat beside him. Joonmyun exhales slightly, and keeps his eyes trained on their professor’s delightfully plain PowerPoint slide. Yes, the names of Austrian composers are far more important to focus on!  
Joonmyun finds his focus breeched with he feels a finger poking his elbow.

“Hey,” a voice to the right of him whispers, “do you have an extra pencil?”

He turns to the annoying student, who looks at him with wide eyes, like an injured animal that’s counting on Joonmyun for its survival. Joonmyun’s been subjected to the same gaze from Jongin, so it doesn’t affect him in the slightest. Still, he sticks his hand into his bag until he finds a spare pen, and slides it onto the desk beside him. The annoying student thanks him with a smile, and turns back to face the lecture. Joonmyun, too, starts to copy down notes.

He looks up, barely fifteen minutes later, when he hears heavy breathing. Of course, it’s his annoying classmate asleep with his face on the desk, drooling onto his notes and snoring slightly. Joonmyun sighs, noticing that the student had manage to scribble down only three lines of notes before passing out.  
Joonmyun fills up about three pages himself by the time class ends, and he quickly packs up his things, preparing to speed walk to the other side of campus to make it to his next lecture on time.

“Here,” a pen is thrust under his nose the second he stands up to leave, “thank you for letting me borrow this.”

“N-no problem,” Joonmyun responds, slipping the pen inside his backpack.

The annoying student smiles sheepishly, rubbing at the red indents on his cheek from his desk. “I fell asleep again, anyways, so I barely used it.”

Joonmyun hears the words come out of his mouth before he can stop himself; “you can take a picture of my notes, if you want.”

The boy’s face lights up. “Really? Thank you!” he pulls out his Samsung smartphone, wrapped with purple headphones, and snaps a few photos before Joonmyun puts his notebook away.

Joonmyun bites his lip a he shuffles to his next class, feeling more annoyed than ever.  
***

“I’ve never been so stressed in my life!” Jongin mumbles into his hands. The younger boy’s shoulders are taut with stress and Joonmyun would be more worried, if he didn’t already know that Jongin has no reason to be so nervous.

He reaches over and rubs his younger friend’s arm, in an attempt to be soothing. They’re sitting in the café across from their dorm, drinking hot chocolate and reviewing notes for their respective midterms and assignments. The weather has started to get chilly, and Joonmyun curses the fact that that he has to walk outside to get to all the different buildings on their university campus. Winter hasn’t even started, and he’s grown accustomed to hiding his face in a scarf from the chill. Getting a warm drink with his favourite sophomore, Jongin, is a good start to remedy the cold.

“You don’t understand! The performance is this Saturday! That’s in _three days_! This is my first performance since I made the team, and I don’t feel ready at all! Sehun keeps telling me I’m freaking out for nothing but I know my moves aren’t perfect and I always forget the second spin in the first routine, I don’t want to let—”

“Jongin!” Joonmyun interrupts, “you will do amazing. If _Sehun_ of all people foregoes teasing you and says that you can do it, then it must be true. You were scouted by this university for your dancing!” Joonmyun doesn’t understand how Jongin doubts himself still, after all the praise he’s received. Jongin’s dancing is sublime, a level of grace that Joonmyun could never achieve.

“I know, but!!” Jongin lowers his hands and Joonmyun sees him bit at his lip with worry, “everyone practices so hard, especially our captain; I don’t want to disappoint anyone by making mistakes and ruining our routine.”

“Even if you make a mistake, which I’m sure you won’t, you’re so talented nobody will notice. Make sure you’re well rested the day of the performance, and you’ll be nothing short of fantastic!” Joonmyun flashes the younger boy a thumbs up.

Jongin groans and rolls his eyes, “ugh, you’re optimism is so cheesy.” He takes a sip of his hot chocolate, with extra chocolate flakes and caramel syrup. “But, thank you. The captain of our dance team spends so much time in the studio, choreographing for us and thinking of ways to help us all improve…I just want him to be proud of us. I don’t even know how he finds time to go to class, and there’s a rumour that one semester he stayed in the practice room all night, dancing until the morning, when he fainted from exhaustion. He’s also an amazing dancer, even Sehun lost his shit when he saw him perform, and Sehun always thinks he’s the hottest shit _just_ because he can do backflips!”

“Wow,” Joonmyun remarks, impressed with the description of Jongin’s dance team captain, “he sounds really dedicated.”

“Yeah,” Jongin replies, “but I—OH SHIT I have to meet my partner for a group project in ten minutes! See you later!”

***

On Saturday night, Joonmyun finds himself in the third row of their university’s auditorium. He’s alone, because his only other friend that would be interested in seeing Jongin and Sehun perform, Chanyeol, is busy having an episode about all the midterms he thinks he’s going to fail but will inevitably ace. It’s alright, though, Joonmyun is content to sit by himself and wait for the show to start. The auditorium isn’t exactly packed, after all this isn’t the final, end-of-year performance that gets hyped up, but there’s enough people present that Joonmyun prays Jongin doesn’t get stage fright. Jongin might be two years younger than him, but Joonmyun knows how shy he can get, even if he’s a born performer.

The lights dim five minutes past seven, and a voice booms through the low-budget sound system, “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the fall performance of our school’s dance team, Black Pearl! Video recording is permitted, but please keep flash photography to a minimum. That being said, please sit back and enjoy our talented dancers!”

The audience claps, Joonmyun included, as the curtains open up, and a few people even whistle. Under the spot light, Joonmyun sees five or six figures, all in baseball caps with their arms behind their backs. Even without seeing their faces, Joonmyun spots Jongin and Sehun. A hip-hop beat blasts through the speakers, and the dancers start moving.

Jongin has always exceeded at anything physical, but Joonmyun’s not used to him performing this style of dance, his real passion being ballet. It’s no surprise that Jongin dances hip-hop with moves just as sharp as his teammates, but in the occasional turn, Joonmyun spots the fluidity of Jongin’s form that he’s used to. Sehun holds his own as well, seeing as he’s all limb, and Joonmyun is proud of both his underclassmen.

The second routine is composed of more experienced team members, and they’re so in sync that Joonmyun can’t help but to hold his breath. The dancers, male and female, are all powerful, moving in ways that barely seem human. Two of the dancers backflip at the same time, and Joonmyun gasps because it’s so awesome. Sehun must be incredibly jealous.

There’s another routine with the entirety of the dance team, and he spots Jongin and Sehun again, in different outfits than before. It’s as amazing as the other two, and Joonmyun claps afterwards, thinking the show is over, or at least at intermission. No one mentioned to him how long it was going to last.

Instead, he hears the announcer’s voice again, blaring from the speakers.

“Everybody, now for a solo performance, showcasing our number one, Lay!”

There’s one figure on stage, seated in a chair, cap obscuring his face. The beat starts out with a hammering base, and the audience is pumped. When the dancer starts to move, Joonmyun’s jaw drops. Lay, or whatever his name is, shifts his body with sharpness that is accurately on count with the beat. There’s none of Jongin’s fluid, tender motions; every movement is hard and quick, a snap of his hips or waist. A group that can dance in synchronization is thrilling to watch, but nothing compares to this performance. This guy, whoever he is, really is number one, though Joonmyun decides he shouldn’t relay that thought to his friends.

The dance isn’t long, its over in maybe two minutes, but Joonmyun is sad when it ends. The curtains close, and there’s a ten minute intermission, but he has trouble paying attention for the rest of the show when it starts again, visions of Lay’s movements behind his eyelids, and barely catches Sehun’s one-armed backflip.

He applauds while standing when it’s over and the performers come on stage to bow. It has been thoroughly enjoyable, and totally worth wasting precious study hours.  
Joonmyun waits outside the auditorium, phone in hands, until a familiar figures barrels into his chest. Jongin is too tall to hug him like this, but he tries anyways.  
“You came!” the younger student cries, “Did you enjoy the show?”

Joonmyun frees himself from Jongin’s smothering embrace, and smiles up at his friend. “It was really amazing! I’ve never seen you dance hip-hop stuff before, I was really impressed!”

Jongin beams under his praise but Sehun just coughs, “Hyung, you shouldn’t compliment him too much, or he’ll develop an ego.” Sehun is frowning, still wearing a black baseball cap, and he looks tired, breath still uneven.

“Nonsense!” Joonmyun reaches up to pinch Jongin’s cheek, and the younger boy yelps, “Jongin’s been doing this since age ten, and no matter how many times people tell him how good he is, he never lets it go to his head. Though I can’t say the same for you.”

Sehun pouts while Jongin laughs, and crosses his arms over his broad chest, but he knows Joonmyun is just teasing. Its Jongin and Sehun’s first time being part of a university team, and they’re both struggling with self-confidence. Joonmyun is happy to be the ‘lame’ friend that gives them praise if it means they can learn to be prouder of their own dancing.

“Oh, I almost forgot, I want to introduce you to our captain!” Jongin gasps before he darts down the hall and grabs someone by the arm. The person stumbles as Jongin tugs them back to Joonmyun and Sehun, but doesn’t protest. “Hyung, this is our captain, Yixing!”

The dance team captain, Yixing, gives a court bow and offers his hand to Joonmyun who shakes it in greeting. His face is handsome, though slightly sweat-soaked, and his smile reveals a noticeable dimple in his cheek. What’s most surprising, is that he looks awfully familiar.

“Wasn’t Yixing-Hyung’s solo amazing? He even has a cool stage name—LAY—I’m so jealous!” Jongin exclaims, grinning at the captain. “Hyung, this is Joonmyun, he’s one of my and Sehun’s friends, and he came to watch our show. I bet your part really impressed him, he’s used to watching me do ballet, which I think puts him to sleep.”

“Not true,” Joonmyun huffs, because he appreciates the use of classical music more than hip-hop, and Jongin knows he likes to watch, “but yes, the show was amazing. I didn’t know what to expect, but for sure all expectations were exceeded.”

“Thank you so much,” Yixing, the captain, says, smile growing wider. He blinks, suddenly, in confusion, before stating, “Wait, you look kinda familiar.”

The second the words reach his ears, Joonmyun recognizes him. He’s the annoying student from his music history class. The one who comes in late and is constantly asleep, and who sat beside Joonmyun on Monday. The same guy, somehow, is the captain of their school’s dance team.

“Ah yes, we have a class together, on Monday? Room 219?” Joonmyun licks his lips. This is the guy he’s been internally shitting on all semester, rolling his eyes every time he walks in late. This guy, Yixing, is also the guy who Jongin and Sehun look up to; the one that Jongin says practices all night till his body collapses. He’s a dancer named Lay who managed to steal Joonmyun’s breath with his dance performance.

“Oh,” Yixing’s eyes widen in recognition, and his cheeks flush a shade redder, “oh, right, I borrowed a pen from you, didn’t I? And you lent me notes too, um, yes, thank you again, for that. I’m not super great at um… sitting in lectures in stuff.” The slightly taller student rubs the back of his neck and looks embarrassed.

“N-no worries, I see that you make up for all that with dancing,” Joonmyun responds, hoping his smile is comforting.

Jongin pipes up again, bringing him and Sehun back into the conversation, “Yeah! Yixing-Hyung is the best on the team, probably in the whole school!”

“Stop being a suck-up,” Sehun hisses, punching Jongin in the arm, and the ballet dancer frowns.

“Well, Sehun, Jongin, I’ll walk you two back to the dorm, and maybe—maybe—buy you a treat on the way.” Sehun is looking at him like he thinks Joonmyun’s wallet has a never ending supply, which is false, but he can treat his favourites to a hard-earned meal. He turns back to face Yixing, “see you in class?”

Yixing smiles again, dimple on view, “Yes, see you Monday!”

Sehun drags him by his sleeve, insistent about his free meal, and Joonmyun lets him pull him along.

As Jongin and Sehun eat blissfully despite their impending midterms, Joonmyun sits quietly and opposite to them. He’s having a hard time, mapping Jongin’s description of Yixing over the opinion he made of him when he only knew his classmate as the annoying student.

He lets himself stop thinking, because it’s late and he’s stressed about school, and busies himself taking a bite out of his burger. Jongin steals a few fries from off his tray, but he lets him. He might as well enjoy the rest of his Saturday evening.

***

On Monday Yixing only shows up seven minutes late; it must be some kind of record.

His bomber jacket has slid down his arms, exposing shoulders, that are more toned than Joonmyun expected (Sehun and Jongin might be dancers too but they’re noodles) and the pink skin of his neck, probably from the cold outside. Joonmyun huddles deeper into his sweater that Chanyeol would call a fashion atrocity. Joonmyun just likes being warm and cozy.

Yixing doesn’t find a seat next to Joonmyun, which Joonmyun can’t tell if he’s happy or upset about, but he does make eye-contact and a brief exchange of smiles.

Joonmyun resumes his focus on their professor, but he does take a sneak peek at the dancer halfway through the lecture. He seems to be fighting a losing battle between staying awake and face planting into his notes. A couple minutes later, he’s out cold. Joonmyun shakes his head and gets back to his notes. He has a perfect gpa to upkeep, and he won’t allow himself to be distracted.

Yixing somehow finds him after their class is over, and he grabs Joonmyun’s wrist to make his presence known, “Hi.”

“Uh, hey,” he responds, looking (slightly) up at Yixing. The other boy’s hair is truly a mess, and Joonmyun notices that it’s wet, “hey, aren’t going to freeze like that?” he says without thinking as he points to the top of Yixing’s head. It’s really not his business, Yixing isn’t even his friend, but it’s kind of cold out today, and Joonmyun himself wouldn’t be caught dead in this weather with hair that wasn’t dry and tucked away under a hat or hood.

“What?” Yixing fingers his bangs, that are long enough to almost be in his eyes, “This? My options were take a shower or come to class full of sweat instead. There was an early morning practice,” he explains.

“Well,” Joonmyun huffs, “you could at least wear a hat!” he doesn’t like to nag others, but his array of careless friends have trained him to be That Friend.

Yixing looks a bit embarrassed, and he bites the inside of his cheek. “Some of the newer members had some questions so it ran later than usual, so I didn’t get time to dry it. Usually I do, but then I take too long, and I have to run all the way to class, and I’m late,” Yixing chuckles to himself, “I think I was even earlier today, too.”

The mention of the word late reminds Joonmyun that he has a class starting in the next three minutes and he better get his butt in gear, “Well, I have to go. See you around!” he smiles politely.

Yixing nods, and gives him a wave goodbye by wiggling his fingers, “Yeah, see you, Joonmyun.”

Yixing remembering his name makes his cheeks tingle but he refuses to acknowledge it. He jogs to his next class, and is only late by two minutes, surprisingly. His friend in that class, Byun Baekhyun, laughs at him and tells him he’s a mess, and Joonmyun tells him to shut up with the threat of making a terrible pun.

He only sees Yixing over two weeks later, on his way to pick up his midterm from their professor’s office. Jongin is with him, because Joonmyun had promised him he’d treat him to barbecue as a reward for not failing his midterms. Sehun is not invited, because he did in fact receive a failing grade, even though he’s still doing better overall than Jongin. Joonmyun is okay with that though, because he enjoys spending time with his childhood friend, even if Jongin sometimes acts like he still is a child.

“Why do you get As on _everything_?” Jongin whines, as Joonmyun happily puts his midterm away in his backpack. He expected a good grade on this exam, and the teacher had praised him for an almost perfect mark. Joonmyun would have been disappointed with anything lower, but he’s still proud of his own achievement. The feeling of a dancer giving a bow after an outstanding performance is the same way Joonmyun feels after acing a test.

“Because I take notes and I study, instead of drawing bears on everything,” Joonmyun reprimands and he laughs at Jongin’s guilty pout.  
Just as the two are about to leave, another student shows up to collect his test. He’s listening to music, with purple earbuds in his ears, and humming the tune of the song out loud.

“Hyung!” Jongin cries, waving frantically, and Yixing blinks in confusion before he recognizes him. He does the same wave with his fingers, and then steps into the professor’s office. Jongin says he wants to wait till his captain is done, and Joonmyun joins him in waiting.

When Yixing remerges he’s frowning, staring at the marking of the exam that’s in his hand and biting worriedly down on his lip. He seems to have forgotten that’s not alone in the hallway, but when he spots Jongin again he shoots the younger a smile.

“How did you do?” Jongin asks, because he’s an idiot and clearly can’t read the atmosphere. Its obvious Yixing isn’t happy with his exam result.

Yixing’s expression is something caught between a smile and a grimace, but the dimple in his cheek still makes an appearance, “Well, you know me, the only thing I’m good at is dancing.” He laughs, as if he’s told a joke, “I guess this is the universe telling me to wake up and not sleep in class.”

Joonmyun realizes then that Yixing probably didn’t have any proper set of notes to study from, except the ones from that lecture where he let his classmate take a picture. It’s no wonder his grade probably wasn’t outstanding. Especially when their professor doesn’t post his PowerPoints online.

“It’s okay, Hyung, midterms aren’t that important. Just focus on the final,” Jongin says encouragingly.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Yixing does not look entirely convinced. “By the way, Jongin, are you coming to practice tonight? I know Taemin has something he wants to teach you, if he hasn’t told you already,” Yixing asks hopefully.

“I’m sorry, Hyung, I don’t think I’ll make it. Joonmyun-Hyung is treating me to dinner and I’m too hungry to cancel on him. I’ll be there on Friday for sure, and Taemin’s already been bugging me about it in the class that we have together until I had to stop sitting beside him. I promise I won’t skip after this,” Jongin replies.

“You better not, kid,” Yixing is smiling but his expression looks a bit dejected, “I have to get going now. I need to get there early to set up the room and stuff. See you later, Jongin, and see you, Joonmyun.”

“Bye!” Jongin says.

“Y-yeah, have fun at practice,” Joonmyun stammers. He can’t explain it, but he doesn’t like seeing the other dancer looking disappointed.

He leaves with Jongin and they get dinner, and of course Sehun finds them and tags along anyways, bringing Chanyeol with him. Joonmyun regretfully pays for everyone, but he knows they’ll all most likely buy him something nice for Christmas to make up for it.

Even after a pleasant night out with friends, Joonmyun finds he’s still stuck on Yixing. It’s true that the dancer is to blame if he flunks class because he hasn’t managed to pay attention, but as Joonmyun’s gotten to know the annoying student from his class, he’s learnt that Yixing isn’t lazy at all. Yixing is a hard worker, who always seems to be on his way to or has just come from practice. Jongin gushes about him like he’s a saint, and even Sehun has admitted to how much he respects the captain of their dance team. He looks out for the younger members on the team, and from what Joonmyun has heard, is always ready to spend some of his own time towards helping out others. He may sleep through class, but Joonmyun wonders if that has more to do with how tired the dancer may be. Jongin too, has a tendency to fall asleep at random moments or locations, especially so when he practices too late at night in his bedroom, or worries until he can’t fall asleep. Maybe Yixing isn’t a rude or irresponsible student, maybe he’s just trying his best.

The thought worries Joonmyun, as he tries to fall asleep at night. He wants to help, and maybe…maybe he can.

***

It’s raining outside on a bleak Thursday afternoon, and Joonmyun is sitting in the common room of his dorm, trying to finish an online quiz before the deadline. Jongin is taking a nap on the couch beside him, and Joonmyun is a bit envious. He hasn’t slept well in the past few days, because his roommate Luhan has been practicing playing the flute for a practical exam, and Joonmyun won’t tell him, but he thinks Luhan should abandon wind instruments all together. This is what happens when Joonmyun signs up to room with a fellow music major.

He’s about four questions from finishing when he feels Jongin’s phone go off beside him. Someone has decided to send Jongin a collection of sudden texts, and Jongin’s phone vibrates obnoxiously at each one. Joonmyun nudges Jongin awake and hands him his phone.

Jongin blinks sleepily at him, and stretches with a loud yawn. The younger boy swipes his passcode to unlock his phone to read his texts.

“Ugh, Taemin,” Jongin whines, scowling at the phone. He doesn’t have his contacts in and has to read with the screen three inches from his face. Joonmyun wonders if he’s pushing it if he volunteers to buy Jongin a pair of glasses.

“What does he want?”

Jongin sits back up on the couch, “he says there’s a last-minute practice at four for our duo routine. We only started working on it recently, and now Taemin thinks if we don’t work on it every day we won’t finish in time for the final showcase. Ugh, I don’t wanna go, but he says Yixing-Hyung is gonna be there to help us,” he bemoans, rubbing his eyes.

“Oh,” Joonmyun perks up, “Yixing will be there?”

Jongin looks at him, “well yeah, he has to make sure Taemin doesn’t fuck around too hard in the practice room. Well, more like he offered to help since Taemin and I don’t specialize in hip-hop, but yeah, he’s going to be there.”

Joonmyun grabs his backpack and fumbles around for something, and when he finds the folder he pulls it out. It’s a plastic folder covered in kittens, which he stole from his roommate Luhan, but it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

“Could you… ah, give this to Yixing for me?” he asks, holding out the folder for Jongin to take.  
Sceptically, Jongin takes it from him. “I didn’t realize you were the type to send someone love letters, Hyung? Isn’t that kind of immature?”

“What?” Joonmyun squeaks, “They aren’t love letters! Its school stuff!” he waves his arms defensively, “and don’t call me immature when you’re the one in SpongeBob boxers!”  
Jongin hurriedly pulls the waist of his sweat pants higher up, looking affronted, “shut up, you know Squidward and I are kindred spirits, and I guess I can bring this to Yixing-Hyung for you.”

“Thanks, Jongin,” Joonmyun says, reaching over to ruffle Jongin’s hair. “Go kick figurative butt at practice.”

Jongin rolls his eyes but gets up anyways, but not before texting Taemin back an affirmation.

A few hours later Joonmyun is still in the same spot when his phone rings. He had finished his quiz, but decided that he really didn’t want to face the flute nightmare so soon, so he opened up another assignment to work on instead.

He reaches into his bag to retrieve his phone, and notices that the caller id is an unknown number. He presses accept anyways, but puts the phone to his ear.

“Joonmyun!” the voice is one that Joonmyun hasn’t heard through the speaker of a phone before, but it isn’t all that unfamiliar.

“Hello?” he answers, curious.

“It’s me, Yixing, I’m sorry I—I asked Jongin to give me your number. I got the folder you sent me, and, wow…” He trails off, and Joonmyun waits for him to continue, “thank you so much.”

Joonmyun had spent about an hour and a half, and approximately three dollars in change, photocopying his notes from their music history lecture to give to Yixing. Now, Joonmyun hopes, Yixing can study properly for their upcoming final.

“Oh, it was no problem. I thought you might like these and consider just… taking a nap if you’re too tired from practicing to come to class,” he responds.

“That’s really thoughtful of you. I mean, really, you have no idea how much this helps me. Joonmyun, you’re amazing!”

Joonmyun feels himself flush, even if there’s no one around to see him. Hearing Yixing call him amazing makes him feel… something. If he tried to spell out what he was feeling it would look something like a keyboard smash.

“I’m happy it helps, I’ll send you the rest of the lectures, too, if you need them,” he adds. Now that he has Yixing’s number in his phone’s history, it will be easier to send him pictures of his notes instead of physical copies.

There’s a short pause before Yixing’s voice sounds in his ear again, “I think, right now, you’re my favourite person. I owe you so much for—oh no, I have to hang up now, but imagine me bowing and saying thank you like ten more times, bye!”

Yixing hangs up, and Joonmyun flops backwards in his seat, knowing that he’s made the right decision.

When the final does come, they see each other as they enter the gym to take the exam. Yixing tells him good luck, and Joonmyun wishes him the same.

***

Somehow, on a Friday night, Joonmyun finds himself wrapping up Sehun’s wrist. It’s the night of the dance team’s final showcase—the big one that draws in many spectators and makes enormous bake sale profits.

In the rehearsal, just a few hours before the show, Sehun had twisted his wrist—you guessed it—while trying to backflip. He had called Joonmyun afterwards, too nervous to face his team members lest they be frustrated by his injury, and that’s how Joonmyun finds him taking care of the younger.

He’d given Sehun Advil and ice for his wrist, but it was drawing closer and closer to Showtime, so Joonmyun figured he might as well bandage the injured wrist to secure it, until Sehun can find time to ice it again. There was no question that Sehun was still going to perform, no injury could deter him from that, but Joonmyun had warned him to take a break from backflips.

“There you go, Sehun. Try not to move it too much, or god forbid put weight on it, but this should make things easier for a little while,” Joonmyun explains. He’s no medical expert, but he thinks the wrist will be fine after a day or two. Being friends with dancers has exposed him to all different kinds of sprains and twisted body parts, and Sehun’s injury seems to be on the milder end of things. Regardless, it’s terrible timing, and Joonmyun hopes Sehun doesn’t let it stop him from giving a great performance.

“How is he?” Jongin asks in a grave voice, peeking his head into the room.

“He has a twisted wrist, Jongin, not a fractured cranium. He’ll be fine,” Joonmyun assures, and he notices Sehun’s shoulders deflate in relief.

“Right, right,” Jongin mumbles, “I’m just nervous. We only have ten minutes before we go backstage to put on makeup and stuff.”

Joonmyun squeezes Sehun’s shoulder, “I think you both are good to go. There’s no question you two will be amazing, as per usual. You’ve practiced so hard these past few weeks, you’re basically dancing machines.”

“Dancing machines, huh?” Jongin questions. Joonmyun hazards a guess that he’s probably daydreaming about starring in one of those giant robot anime shows, except where the robots battle by dancing. At any rate, they’re interrupted by a hand on Jongin’s shoulder as someone else enters the room.

“Everything okay?” It’s Yixing.

He looks tired, like he hasn’t slept in several days, and there’s dark circles under his eyes. On top of that, he’s almost certainly stressed out, and seeing Sehun hurt himself probably made him feel even worse.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Sehun replies, holding out his injured arm and giving it a little shake to prove he can still move it.

Yixing looks relieved, “that’s great. You guys should probably start getting ready. The quicker we get costumes and makeup done with, the better off we’ll be.”

Jongin and Sehun nod, and Joonmyun tells them good luck as they scurry off to get ready.

Once they’re gone, Yixing exhales, rubbing his face with his hands.

“You okay?” Joonmyun asks, and Yixing jumps.

“Yes! Sorry, I forgot you were still here. I don’t know what’s wrong with me; I guess I’m on edge,” Yixing admits, collapsing into the fold up chair that Sehun had been sitting in.

“I don’t think you need to be nervous about the performance at all. If there’s one thing I know about you, it’s that you’re a hard worker who’s dedicated to dance. The showcase is going to be awesome, and I can’t wait to watch it,” Joonmyun admits, looking Yixing in the eye.

“Thank you,” Yixing says genuinely, “but speaking of which, shouldn’t you go find a seat in the auditorium. The final show is usually pretty packed.”

“You’re right. If I don’t get a seat I won’t forgive myself,” Joonmyun notes, and he gathers his bag and other belongings in the room and makes his way to the door. Once at the doorway, he turns around, back to Yixing, “and one last thing. Hwaiting!” he does an exaggerated double thumbs-up.

Yixing blinks once before he burst into laughter. He laughs so hard that once he’s finished he wipes a tear from his eye, and Joonmyun just watches. Usually people groan or roll their eyes at his cheesy phrases, they don’t usually laugh.

“Has anyone ever told you how adorable you are?” Yixing asks, still smiling widely from his laughing episode.

Joonmyun knows he’s blushing and he chokes on a reply. Why is everything that Yixing does so unpredictable?

“That was a compliment by the way. Also, you had better get going. See you after the show?”

Joonmyun nods, and before he can open his mouth and spew actual garbage words, he rushes to the auditorium.

Joonmyun doesn’t get as good of a seat as last time, but he does still manage a decent view of the stage. What everyone has said is true, the audience is way larger than the midterm show. He feels alone in the large crowd, and he should have asked a friend to come with him, but he forgets all this when the lights go low and he hears the announcer through the sound system. The audience cheers in anticipation.

The Black Pearl dance team takes to the stage, and once the first performance starts, Joonmyun can tell the routines are way more elaborated, more refined, than the first show. He loses count of how many times his mouth hangs open at a certain dance move or trick because it’s simply incredible to see live. He’s proud to be friends with people on this unbelievably hard-working team, and he’s similarly proud to see their hard work pay off.

This time, unfortunately, there aren’t solos, but he does get to witness Jongin and Taemin’s duo number. It’s hip-hop, but with a touch of something else, and the routine highlights the fluidity of their movements. Joonmyun knows this is still a small-scale stage, but he can see, years down the line, Jongin performing in front of hundreds, maybe thousands. When their duo routine is over, Joonmyun actually screams as part of his applause.

Watching the dancers, Joonmyun can only conclude that they’re all amazing. He knows that their improvement from the last show, whether noticeable to the whole audience or not, is partly due to their captain, Yixing. His body might disagree with him when he falls asleep in class, but on stage, Yixing is brilliant and in control, and behind it, a genius.

When the showcase is over, Joonmyun, and many others, give a standing ovation. Once again, he’s been blown away.

Of course, he meets up with Jongin and Sehun after the show. Sehun’s wrist hadn’t hurt too badly during the performance, he admits, and Joonmyun is glad. They’re both sweaty and hyped up on adrenaline, and even Sehun is all smiles.

Joonmyun presents them both with a bouquet of flowers as congratulations. Sehun frowns at it, and Jongin pretends to throw up.

“Oh my god, Hyung, why are you so gross, are you my mom? If you wanna buy us something, buy us alcohol!” Jongin whines, pushing the bouquet back at him.

Joonmyun pretends to get angry with him, “what? Why are you so ungrateful to your elder?” he pulls on Jongin’s ear and Jongin yelps in pain, “you won’t accept my generous gift and then demand that I spend more money on you?”

Sehun coughs. “What Jongin _meant_ to say is that there’s an after party at Henry-Hyung’s place, and you’re invited to come with us,” he says, and Joonmyun lets go of Jongin’s ear, “well, actually you should come, because Jongin will probably have one sip of beer and fall asleep in someone’s lap or something.”

“Also we want you to come celebrate with us,” Jongin explains, and doesn’t miss a beat before adding, “and Yixing-Hyung will be there too, you can congratulate him.”

Joonmyun crosses his arms and pretends to look pensive. Jongin takes the bouquet and pretends to be enthralled with it, and fakes sniffing the flowers, until Joonmyun makes up his mind. “Fine, fine, I’ll come to your after-party. But only because this might be the first time I can get something free out of this friendship.”

Joonmyun lets Sehun and Jongin lead him from their university to a student apartment a couple blocks away. Before they’re even inside, Joonmyun hears the loud thumping of typical house-party music, and groans because he’s too awkward to attend events like this. As it is, he can barely hold his liquor.

Once inside, things are made worse because Joonmyun remembers he hardly knows anyone on the dance team. There’s good thirty people crammed inside the apartment, and currently, the only faces he can put names to are Jongin’s and Sehun’s. He grabs a can of beer and makes quick work of it, and his friends talk to their teammates and introduce him a few times.

He’s not exactly in the mood to converse with strangers as he opens the second beer, and is standing against the kitchen counter, watching Jongin laugh at Taemin’s jokes and Sehun attempt to flirt with a pretty red-head who’s way out of his league.

He wonders if it would be better to just leave now, after all neither Jongin or Sehun seem to be in need of a chaperone, when someone bumps into his shoulder. He looks up, and is surprised to see that it’s Yixing.

“You came?” Yixing asks, and he looks pleased to see him.

Joonmyun knows his cheeks are pink from the beer in his system, but the momentary stuttering in his chest is all him, “Yeah, Sehun and Jongin convinced me. I said yes forgetting I don’t know anyone else.”

“That’s not true,” Yixing pouts, and Joonmyun’s never seen him pout before, but it stirs something else from inside Joonmyun, “you know me.”

“I didn’t see you until now,” Joonmyun retorts. He grabs the discarded bouquet Sehun had left off the counter beside him, “but that’s true, I do know you. Here, have this.”

“For me?” Yixing asks, taking the bouquet from him. Joonmyun’s eyes zero in on his dimple.

“Jongin and Sehun rejected it; maybe you’ll appreciate it more,” he explains.

Yixing leans down and plants a kiss on his cheek, “well, thank you.”

Joonmyun knows now his cheeks are coloured more from Yixing than beer; he looks around to make sure no one saw, but it seems no one is paying them any attention.

Yixing reaches down to grab his hand, and gives it a little tug, “want to dance with me?”

“You’re a dancer, like hell I’m going to let myself be embarrassed like that.” Dancing with Yixing sounds like it might be… fun. Joonmyun takes a final sip of his beer, and places the empty can on the counter.

Yixing seems to find his comment amusing. “You can just let me lead, I promise not to do a cartwheel down the hall or anything,” he remarks, and Joonmyun giggles despite himself.

A couple minutes later, Joonmyun finds himself in one of the less-crowded corners of the living room, with Yixing attempting to teach him how to dance. He’s miserable at it, and blames it on the beer though he’s fully aware that it’s just Yixing’s effect. It’s hard to focus on moving his body the right way when Yixing keeps touching his arm or waist, or when his handsome face is so close, or when Yixing is smiling so damn wide. Joonmyun doesn’t even find himself that self-conscious about his dancing, happy to just soak up the dance team captain’s attention.

They’ve been quiet for a few minutes, save for the occasional soft ring of laughter, but Yixing starts up conversation again.

“You know,” the dancer says, voice low, “I’m very passionate about things I find cute. I take them very seriously.”

“Yeah?” Joonmyun breaths, drawn in by the way the dim light casts shadows across Yixing’s features, including the dimple. There’s no denying that Yixing is handsome, but something about his charm is just… inexpressible.

“Yeah,” Yixing answers, “I've said it before, but _you're_ cute.”

Joonmyun makes an O shape with his lips, the second Yixing dips his head forward. Joonmyun flutters his eyes closed, just as Yixing presses their mouths together.

Yixing’s lips are warm and wet, and Joonmyun lets himself be pulled in by them, until Yixing’s arms are around his waist and holding him close. Yixing’s body is warm, in contrast with the cold air outside, and Joonmyun presses up against him.

Yixing lips also move like they too are skilled dancers, sliding against Joonmyun’s. He whimpers into the kiss, and he feels like a he’s riding a wave, being carried by the ocean’s rhythmic motion away from reality.

Yixing breaks the kiss and Joonmyun feels breathless. He almost forgets where he is, at some university party, with people all around him.

They don’t say anything for a while, and Joonmyun tries to process what just happened. He hadn’t expected his night to culminate in a kiss from Yixing, but he can’t say he’s upset about it. In fact, he wouldn’t mind another one…or two.

“That was…” Joonmyun starts to say, but Yixing cuts him off.

“I’ve got to get going, I’m too sleep deprived to be out this late,” he says, and Joonmyun is disappointed when Yixing pulls away. “Don’t make that face; I still owe you for those notes. What do you say, one kiss per lecture?”

Joonmyun smiles, relieved, “one per page, and you have a deal.”

Yixing grins and presses a brief kiss to his temple before pulling away again, “deal. See you soon?” he asks, expectant.

“Oh, definitely.”


End file.
